South Mall Arterial

The South Mall Arterial is a 0.52-mile (0.84 km) expressway in Albany, New York, in the United States. It begins at an intersection with Swan Street and runs eastward under the Empire State Plaza to the west end of the Dunn Memorial Bridge, where the highway ends at an interchange between Interstate 787 (I-787), U.S. Route 9 (US 9), and US 20. The road is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) as New York State Route 913V (NY 913V), an unsigned reference route.

South Mall Arterial
South Mall Arterial highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NYSDOT
Length	0.52 mi[1] (0.84 km)
Existed	early 1960s–present
Major junctions
West end	Swan Street in Albany
	I-787 in Albany
East end	US 9 / US 20 in Albany
Highway system
New York Highways Interstate U.S. State Reference Parkways

Route description

View of the arterial from the Empire State Plaza

The arterial begins at an unorthodox intersection with Swan Street, a one-way, one-lane street that runs along the Empire State Plaza's northwestern edge. Ramps connect the westbound arterial to Swan Street north and Swan Street north to the eastbound arterial, and the arterial itself abruptly ends with a U-turn just west of Swan Street. The highway heads to the southeast, passing under a row of buildings that marks the northwestern boundary of the Empire State Plaza. After a short piece open to the sky, the road heads under the center of the plaza in two tunnels, with access to and from the plaza's parking garage on the right. Two unused tunnels—which would have served through traffic—are present in the center, and two partial tunnels on the outside serve garage traffic.[2]

It emerges from the tunnels just west of Eagle Street, a two-lane road that loosely follows the southeastern boundary of the plaza. The arterial subsequently crosses over Eagle Street, with a westbound ramp providing access to the street and the nearby Times Union Center. Continuing eastward, the eastbound direction of the highway splits into two roads, one leading to the Dunn Memorial Bridge and another connecting to I-787. The two halves of the highway are separated by only a jersey barrier until Pearl Street (US 20 and NY 32), where the arterial enters a large interchange at the western end of the Dunn Memorial Bridge. Although both directions of the arterial are accessible from Pearl Street, there is no eastbound access from the arterial to Pearl Street. The original plans for the highway had included an eastbound exit to the street.[2]

East of Pearl Street, both directions of the highway physically split into two ramps. One roadway in each direction funnels traffic to and from I-787, while the other continues eastward onto the Dunn Memorial Bridge. At this point, the South Mall Arterial gives way to US 9 and US 20, which head across the bridge to Rensselaer. US 9 enters and exits the road via ramps paralleling I-787 to the north of the arterial while US 20 ascends onto the bridge via the Pearl Street entrance and exit ramps.[3][4] The arterial is inventoried by NYSDOT as NY 913V, an unsigned reference route.[5]

History

Tunnel entrances under the Empire State Plaza

The highway was built in the early 1960s.

The Arterial was to continue west to the east edge of Washington Park, where it would end at the Mid-Crosstown Arterial.[2]

Exit list

The entire route is in Albany, Albany County. All exits are unnumbered.

mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
0.00	0.00	South Swan Street	Western terminus
		Parking Garage	Eastbound exit and entrance
0.30	0.48	US 9 north to I-787 / New York Thruway – Troy	exit 3 (I-787)
		US 20 west / NY 32 (South Pearl Street)	No eastbound exit
0.52	0.84	US 9 south / US 20 east – Rensselaer	Eastern terminus; continues as the Dunn Memorial Bridge
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

See also

References

1. "2008 Traffic Volume Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. June 16, 2009. p. 264. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
2. Maps on Capital Highways – Mid-Crosstown Arterial Archived 2011-04-29 at the Wayback Machine
3. Google Maps
4. Steve Alpert's Roads: South Mall Expressway, secret NY 913V (photographs and video)
5. New York State Department of Transportation (January 2012). Official Description of Highway Touring Routes, Bicycling Touring Routes, Scenic Byways, & Commemorative/Memorial Designations in New York State (PDF). Retrieved February 16, 2012.